An international meeting will be held on June 2-5, 1982 in Washington, D.C. the subject: "The Endocrine Lung in Health and Disease." The purpose of the meeting is to bring together scientists from several nations who are performing important research in this new field. In the past decade, it has become apparent that the lung contains and secretes a host of bioactive amines, arachidonic acid metabolites and polypeptide substances which may have important local and/or systemic effects. Several of these substances are contained within the pulmonary endocrine cell, some within the nerve cells of the lung, and some within other cellular elements of the pulmonary parenchyma, such as mast cells. Also, since the pulmonary endocrine cell is the putative progenitor of two forms of lung tumor: the carcinoid tumor and small cell carcinoma, the meeting will explore the pathophysiology and biochemistry of the transformation of the benign pulmonary endocrine cell into these latter tumors. In addition to invited speakers, there will also be a poster session based upon selection from solicited abstracts. The concept of the endocrine lung is a relatively new one, and, as yet, has not reached the general medical community. This meeting, the first international one to be held solely on this subject, will help gain wider acceptance of the concept by: 1) widespread publicity and distribution of the brochure, 2) the quality of the speakers and selection of the topics, 3) rapid publication of the proceedings in book form. The Endocrine lung is a new, rapidly emerging field, and will interest many diverse groups of investigators - pulmonary physiologists, anatomists, embryologists and clinicians, as well as endocrinologists, oncologists, and cell biologists. It is hoped to exchange information, clarify some important aspects, interest more clinicians and investigators in this new field, and suggest new directions for future research.